


don't believe in the afterparty

by trekinist



Category: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: Fluff, Killjoys Halloween Gift Exchange, Nonbinary Party Poison (Danger Days), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trekinist/pseuds/trekinist
Summary: “I dunno, Ghoul.”“Come on,” Ghoul whined. “It'll be fun.”Party Poison doesn't like celebrating their birthday. Fun Ghoul intends to change that.
Relationships: Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (Danger Days)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	don't believe in the afterparty

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Killjoy Halloween Gift Exchange for @crunchiestbones. Thanks to @subdivisionsmile for organizing!

“I dunno, Ghoul.”

“Come _on_ ,” Ghoul whined. “It'll be _fun_.” 

Kobra frowned at him. “They don' like celebratin' their birthday.”

“I _know_ that.” Ghoul gestured widely. “That's why I wanna make it fun!” 

Kobra sighed and set his screwdriver down on the bar counter. “Fine. What d'you have in mind?”

“Well, I was hopin' you – ”

“No,” Kobra interrupted immediately. “You wanna do this, you plan it yourself.”

Ghoul scowled at him and opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by another voice. “What are we lettin' Ghoul plan, now?” Jet strolled into the main room of the diner and leaned their elbows on the countertop.

“Ghoul wants t' celebrate Poison's birthday,” Kobra informed them, picking his screwdriver back up and turning his attention back to the disassembled radio on the counter.

Jet frowned, their eyebrows furrowing. “They don' like celebratin' their birthday.”

Kobra snorted when Ghoul groaned dramatically. “I wanna make it  _fun_ , Jet! I just don' know  _how_ !”

“Have you asked them what they wanna do?” they asked reasonably.

Both Kobra and Ghoul stared at them like they had two heads. “ _No_ , cause they'd say they don' wanna do  _anything_ ,” Ghoul replied emphatically. Kobra nodded in agreement. 

“Well, shouldn't you respect that?” Before Ghoul could argue, Jet raised a hand. “Listen, I get what you're tryin' t' do. It's nice of you. But if they won't wanna do anything, then... they don' wanna do anything.”

“ _Witch_ , don't try to fuckin' guilt me like that,” Ghoul groaned. “I just wanna do something nice for my partner's birthday, what's wrong with that?” 

“Just think about it.” Jet patted Ghoul's shoulder across the counter. Ghoul shrugged them off, looking irritated, before walking out of the front door of the diner. “What d'you think he's gonna do?” Jet asked, turning to Kobra with a worried look.

Kobra shrugged. “He knows better than t' hurt Poison's feelings.”

“Cause you'll kill 'im?”  
“Cause I'll kill 'im,” Kobra confirmed, grinning slightly. He finished screwing the back panel onto the radio and pressed a few buttons, grin widening when it started playing Doc's station.

Jet chuckled. “Well, don' get too hasty with your raygun. You know how dramatic Poison can get.”

\-----

The Girl was reading aloud to herself when Ghoul found her, up in the loft of the garage. Briefly wondering how she got up there, he knocked on the door frame to signal his presence. “Whatcha doin', Girlie?” he called.

She grinned, holding up the book. “Practicin',” she said proudly. “Jet says I'm gettin' good at _compound consonants_.”

“Y' wanna come help me with somethin'?”

The Girl's face lit up at that. She jumped down from the loft – Ghoul winced at the impact, but she bounced up and sprinted to him. “Are we prankin' Kobra again?” she asked eagerly.

Ghoul laughed. “No, baby, somethin' different this time.” He knelt to her level and whispered, “We're gonna do a surprise for Poison's birthday.”

She blinked, furrowed her eyebrows in an exact imitation of Jet, then said uncertainly, “Poison doesn't like t' celebrate their birthday.”

Ghoul bit back a retort. “I jus' think if they have one _good_ birthday,” he started with exaggerated patience, “then they'll like their birthday after. Maybe they've jus' never had a good birthday!”

The Girl wrinkled her nose. “Is this a _couple_ thing?”

“Wh – no! We celebrate _your_ birthday, birthdays aren't a couple thing!”

She raised an eyebrow at him – something she had clearly picked up from both Poison and Kobra – and said, with a tone that indicated she didn't believe him, “Okay.”

“They're _not_ ,” Ghoul said loudly, but before he could continue, he heard a deep rumbling sound getting closer. He and the Girl moved to the side as Poison pulled the 'Am into the garage. They were blaring the radio as loud as it would go, but Ghoul didn't recognize the music before they turned the car off.

Poison leaned out of the open window, grinning widely. “Hey, beautiful,” they drawled, putting on an exaggerated accent. “What brings you t' this part of the Zones?”

Ghoul felt his face heat up as he blushed. _Destroya help me_. The Girl made a loud gagging noise. “You keep that up, you won' get the present I bought you at the market, young lady,” Poison scolded her.

She immediately perked up. “Sorry you were bein' gross,” she said, not sounding sorry at all.

Poison snorted. “Alright, fine. Look what I found.” They grabbed something off the passenger seat, then got out of the car. They handed her a small plastic tub, which she pried open curiously.

“Chalk!” she squealed. She launched herself at Poison's legs, gripping them in a tight hug. Poison laughed aloud before untangling themself from her. “Can I go use it now?”

“Course, baby, just stay outta the sun, and come get us if you see anyone comin',” they said, ruffling her hair affectionately. With another shouted thanks, the Girl sprinted out of the garage with the chalk in hand. Poison watched her running with a fond look, then turned that same look on Ghoul. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Ghoul willed his cheeks to cool down – they had been dating for 4 years, for God's sake – and put a small pout on his face. “Where's my kiss?”

“Don't be a fucking baby,” Poison said, although they were smiling and already leaning down to connect their lips to his. Ghoul melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around their neck. Poison broke it after a few moments. “What were you doin' out here?”

“Jus' checkin' in on the Girl,” he said quickly, probably too quickly by the look on Poison's face. “Hadn't seen her in a bit.”

Poison hummed, placing their hands on his waist. “Sure.” They kissed him again, then added, “Can you help me unload? I got a ton of stuff at the market. Witch had my back today.”

Ghoul smirked and pressed himself even closer. “Or we could do somethin' else,” he murmured, placing a few kisses along Poison's jaw. He pushed a little and Poison stepped backward, running into the car.

Poison laughed again, a little breathlessly. “Somethin' else works too.”

\-----

Route Guano was never a quiet place. Between the roar of engines and the constant firefights, it was near impossible not to hear a threat coming before you saw it. Which is why Ghoul wasn't surprised to find Show Pony already poised outside their hideout, prepared to gun him down if need be. Thankfully Jet's bike – which he had begged Jet to borrow on the promise that he would take their next three watches – was pretty distinct, and Pony was already lowering their gun as he approached. Ghoul slowed the bike, raising a hand in greeting.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in!” they yelled over the engine. Ghoul turned off the bike engine and set down the kickstand as he dismounted. “Been too damn long, Ghoulie!”

Ghoul barely had time to remove his helmet before Pony was sweeping him up in a tight hug. His feet dangled a few inches off the ground and he struggled to breathe enough to gasp out a greeting.

Pony dropped him back onto his feet, grinning widely. “What brings you this way?”

Ghoul took a minute to get his breath back before replying. “Need some advice,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Word is you're the best at throwin' parties.”

“You heard right.” They waved a hand for him to follow, walking back towards the concealed shack that they called home. It was small but comfortable, hidden between rock formations that kept out the searing heat of the sun. Ghoul settled into the worn armchair they had for guests. They rummaged in a cooler for a moment, then held up a can of what looked like soda with a questioning look. Pony chucked it at Ghoul when he nodded. “What's the occasion?” they asked, closing the cooler and sitting on the lid.

“Poison's birthday is next week.” Ghoul cracked the can open and took a long sip, savoring the rarity of still-carbonated soda. Pony waved their hand for him to continue. “I'm havin' trouble comin' up with a way to celebrate.”

“Well, Poison loves parties,” they mused. “Despite the name.” Ghoul snorted. “But, I don' get, why d'you need my help? I'm sure you could come up with somethin'.”

Ghoul sighed. “They don' like celebratin' their birthday,” he mumbled into the can.

“Speak up, Ghoulie.”

Ghoul groaned before repeating himself, louder this time, “They don' _like_ celebratin' their birthday.”

Pony hummed, looking pensive. “Now that's a new challenge. A party that Party Poison doesn't wanna be at.” They tossed their empty can between their hands for a few moments. “Shit, Ghoul, that's quite the stumper you've brought me.”

Ghoul shrugged. “I tried askin' Kobra n' Jet but Kobra wasn't any help and Jet got all philosophical about it, n' the Girl' s only seven, so...” He trailed off, feeling a little useless.

“Don' worry, Ghoul. I'm sure I'll think of somethin' before too long,” Pony reassured him. “Now you best get goin' before the Dracs see your bike outside.”

\-----

Ghoul had been acting weird all god damn week.

Poison wasn't sure what he was so twisted up about. They had enough food for a month and the Dracs had been quiet – but he was still tense in the shoulders, and they had caught him speaking in whispers to the others only to cut off when they entered the room three times now. If something was wrong, why wouldn't he tell them?

Poison shook their head. Surely it wasn't serious, they reasoned, watching Ghoul sort through a tangled mess of wires and cables that he had piled on the diner counter. If it was, he would tell them. Right?

A spark flew off of the wire Ghoul was holding, and he swore loudly as he dropped it. “God _damn_ it,” he muttered, bending down to pick it up off the ground. They caught his eyes as he straightened back up, and noticed the beginnings of dark circles under them.

“Are you okay?” Poison asked, standing from their place in the booth and joining him at the counter. They took the wire out of his hand and glanced it over for burns.

Ghoul looked utterly confused, but replied, “I'm fine.” He took the wire back and put it in a separate pile, then turned back to the first pile. Poison didn't miss the slight shake in his hands. Fuck, when was the last time he'd slept?

“No, you're not,” Poison decided, and before Ghoul could ask them what they meant, they wrapped their arms around him and hauled him up over their shoulder. Ghoul yelped a rather indignant noise before starting to complain loudly – but Poison noted that he didn't fight them on it, a tell that he was more tired than he looked. The worry in Poison's chest increased a little as they carried him out of the main room into the closet they called a bedroom.

“I need t' get that shit sorted, Pois, come _on –_ ”

Poison ignored him and dropped him onto the mattress rather unceremoniously, then sat next to them and grabbed one of his hands. “Ghoulie,” they said softly, rubbing his knuckles until they loosened. “What's wrong?”

Ghoul's shoulders slumped a little. “It's stupid,” they muttered, looking away. Poison squeezed his hand a little tighter. “Can I ask you somethin'?”

“Course.”

“Why don' you like celebratin' your birthday?”

Poison's breath hitched in their chest, but they nearly laughed out loud. Was this really what he was so wound up about? “I just had a lotta bad birthdays in the City, babe.”

“So, so what if you had a _good_ one out here? Would you like it then?” Ghoul lifted his head then, met their eyes. He seemed genuinely upset.

“I dunno. Maybe. What're you so upset about it for?” Poison laid down on the mattress, bringing Ghoul with them, arranging him so he was tucked snugly into their side. They carded their fingers through his hair, hoping to assuage some of the tension he was holding.

Ghoul sighed into the crook of their shoulder. “I jus' wan' you to be happy,” he mumbled. “An' you're not on your birthday. I wanted t' fix it.”

A surge of pure affection for Ghoul flooded over Poison. “I _am_ happy,” they said, pushing up on one elbow to look at his face. They brushed a thumb over his cheek. Ghoul caught their hand and turned his head into it, pressing a kiss to the palm. “But, wait, why're you worried 'bout it now?”

Ghoul stared at them, then said, slowly, as if they were concussed, “Your birthday is next week.”

Poison's brain stuttered to a halt as they processed that. _Next week?_ That couldn't be right. It hadn't been _that_ long since the Girl's birthday, only – “Oh, _Witch_ ,” they swore. “It's _next week_.”

Ghoul broke into sudden laughter. Poison felt their face flush. “ _Poison._ Party Poison, light of my life, gift from the Witch, I love you _so_ much,” he gasped, blinking away tears, still shaking with laughter.

Poison rolled onto their back and covered their face with their hands. “Shut _up_ ,” they groaned. They felt Ghoul swatting at their hands and glanced between their fingers in time to see Ghoul roll nearly on top of them. “Wha – ” 

Ghoul cut Poison off with a kiss, pressing Poison into the mattress. They melted into it, threading a hand into his hair. After a few moments he pulled back, grinning widely. “I love you,” he repeated. “'m sorry I was actin' weird.”

“Jus' get some sleep, Ghoulie.” They leaned up a little to press a kiss onto the corner of his mouth. “I think we've got a lotta plannin' to do tomorrow if I'm gonna have a birthday party.”


End file.
